Swimming aid



E. G. BAKER SWIMMING AID Aug. 21, 1962 Filed Jan. 28, 1959 INVENTOR Y EoGHP 6. Bfr/5R .w In" Unit@ ware Filed Jan. 28, 1959, Ser. No. 789,657Claims. (Cl. 9-337) My invention relates to a swimming aid which islight, compact, comfortable, and durable and more particularly to aswimming aid which is particularly adapted for use by persons engaged inaquatic sports.

Aquatic sports, such as water skiing, `aquaplaning and the like, havebecome extremely popular. Inherent in participation in sports of thisnature is the danger that the rider or skier may fall from the skis orthe like while traveling over deep water at some distance from theshore. It is desirable for the safety of the skier that, even if he bean expert swimmer, he should be provided with some assistance inremaining aoat until he can reach shore or until he is picked up by thetowing boat.

Many forms of life preservers are known in the prior art. For the mostpart, these devices are bulky, cumbersome, and uncomfortable. They donot permit the wearer sufcient freedom of movement for him to engagefreely in active sports, such as water skiing and the like. Thesepreservers of the prior art are not intended for repeated use but areintended only for emergency use. They are not constructed to withstandthe shocks and abuse incident to everyday athletic use. The buoyancy ofthese bulky preservers of the prior art is many times greater than thatwhich is necessary merely to assist a swimmer in staying aoat for asucient time to permit his to reach safety. Owing to their bulk andmarmer of construction, these life preservers of the prior art areunsuitable for use by a person engaging in active water sports.

I have invented a comfortable and compact swimming aid which reduces theeffort required in swimming while affording the wearer great freedom ofmovement when engaged in active water sports. My swimming aid assists afallen water skier or like person in remaining afloat until he reachessafety. My device can withstand the abuse incident to its use by aperson regularly engaged in active sports.

One object of my invention is to provide a swimming aid which isespecially adapted for use by a person engaging in active aquaticsports, such as water skiing and the like.

Another object of my invention is to provide a swimming aid which isless bulky than are life preservers of the prior art.

A further object of my invention is to provide a swimming aid which isless cumbersome than are life preservers of the prior art.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a swimming aid whichis durable to permit its repeated use by a person engaging in activewater sports.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide a swimming aid whichreduces the effort required for swimming.

Other and further objects of my invention will appear from the followingdescription:

In general my invention contemplates the provision of a swimming aidhaving a pair of mol-ded elongated channel-shaped iioats. I provide thebases of the floats with spaced openings to permit a length of webbingto be passed through the openings to form a belt by means of which myswimming aid may be secured firmly and comfortably around the waist ofthe wearer.

In the accompanying drawings which form part of the instantspecification and which are to be read in conjunctates Eatent ice tiontherewith and in which like reference numerals are used to indicate likeparts in the various views:

FIGURE l is a perspective view illustrating my swimming i id in use by awater skier. f

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of my swimming aid when detached from thebody of the wearer.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional View of my swimming aid taken along the line 3-3of FIGURE 2 and drawn on an enlarged scale.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional View of my swimming aid taken along the line 4 4of FIGURE 3 and drawn on an enlarged scale.

Referring now more particularly to t-he drawings, my swim-imng aid,indicated generally by the reference character 1G, includes a pair offloats 12 and 14, which are molded from a suitable material such, forexample, as foam rubber or the like. I form the elongated oats 12 and 14with a channel-shaped cross section to provide each float with a base 16and sides 18 and 19. I provide the base 16 of the float 14 wit-h a pairof spaced openings 20 and 22. The base 16 of the iioat 12 has a pair ofopenings 24 and 26 formed therein.

A length of webbing 2S, made of any suitable material such as cotton,nylon or the like, forms the belt of my swimming aid. Beginning with theend 30 of the length of webbing 28 remote from the free end 32, I passthe webbing through the opening 22 in the base 16 of the oat 14 andalong the iiat underside of the base of float 14 to the opening 2G. Inext pass the length of webbing 28 upwardly through the opening 26. Thewebbing next passes through the opening 26, then along the at undersideof the base 16 of float 12 and upwardly through the opening 24.

I form a loop 34 in the belt and retain the loop in the belt bystitching 3U or by any other appropriate means. The loop 34 retains apair of rectangular members 38 and 40, forming the buckle of my swimmingaid on the belt. I pass the length of webbing 28 back through thechannels of floats 12 and 14 to leave a free end 32, which may besecured by the buckle made up of members 3-8 and 40 to retain theswimming `aid on the wearers body in a manner to be described. Stitching42 secures the length of webbing 28 passed back through the channels ofthe floats 12 and 14 to the portion of the length of webbing extendingalong the channels between openings 20 and 26. Stitching 44 secures thelength of webbing 28 extending back through the channels of the fioats12 and 14 to the end 30 to hold the iioats 12 and 14 firmly on the belt.This manner of assembling the iioats to the belt of my swimming aidenables the device to withstand severe abuse without damaging thefloats.

In use of my swimming aid, a water skier or a person engaged in anyother water sport of a similar nature wraps the floats 12 and 14 aroundhis waist and passes the free end 32 of belt 2S through both members 33and 4t?. The free end then is looped around the member 38 and is passedthrough the member 40 to cinch the swimming aid tightly about the waistof the wearer as tension is exerted on the free end of the belt. It willbe appreciated that when the swimming aid is drawn around the waist ofthe wearer as shown in FIGURE 1, the flat undersides of the floats 12and 14 conform themselves to the wearers body. The portions of the fiatwebbing belt 2S extending along the undersides of the oats 12 and 14between the pairs of openings 2t)` and 22 and 24 and 26 permit thisaction without discomfort to the wearer. My swimming aid is thus securedtightly to the Wearers body in a position in which it cannot interferewith his activity. At the same time it is extremely comfortable with theresult that the user is scarcely aware of the presence of the aid. Theseresults are accomplished by my swimming aid while permitting it towithstand great abuse in repeated uses without the danger of damage. Itwill be readily apparent that, owing to the elongated channel shape ofmy buoyant members and to the fact that the belt is disposed in thechannels of the members over an appreciable portion of their length, thebuoyant members are securely held on the wearers person in the positionthey are intended to occupy. They will not readily become disarrangedwith respect to the belt, even when subjected to shock as when thewearer tak-es a heavy fall into the water. Should the person wearing theaid fall or be thrown #from the water skis or the like, my swimming aidaffords him sufficient bouyancy to remain aoat until he reaches what maybe a relatively distant shore or until he is picked up by the towingboat.

It will be seen that I have accomplished the objects of my invention. Ihave provided a swimming aid which is light, compact, and comfortable.My swimming aid does not interfere with the activity of the wearer andthus is especially adapted for use by a person engaging in an activesport, such as water skiing or the like. My swimming aid reduces theetort required in swimming and provides suicient bouyancy to permit theuser to stay aoat until he reaches safety. My aid can withstand greatabuse in repeated uses.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are ofutility and may be employed without reference to other features andsubcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of myclaims. `It is 'further obvious that various changes may be made indetails Within the scope of my claims without departing from the spiritof my invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that my invention isnot to be limited to the specific details shown and described.

Having this described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A swimming aid including in combination a pair of elongatedchannel-shaped buoyant masses, each having its channel extending in thedirection of its length to form a base, a belt and respective loops insaid belts extending around said bases for retaining said masses inend-to-end relationship, portions of said belt loops lying in -thechannels of said masses on said bases for an appreciable portion of thelengths of said masses whereby to restrain said masses against shiftinglaterally of said belt.

2. A swimming aid including in combination a pair of elongated buoyantmasses, each formed with a channel having its channel extending in thedirection of its length to form a base formed with a pair of spacedopenings,

a belt disposed in the channels of said masses and respective loops insaid belt surrounding the portions of said bases between said spacedopenings, portions of said belt loops lying in the channels of saidmasses on said bases for an appreciable portion of the lengths of saidmasses whereby to restrain said masses against shifting laterally of thebelt.

3. A swimming aid including in combination a pair of elongatedchannel-shaped tloats, each iloat'having its channel extending in thedirection of its length, means forming pairs of spaced openings in saidfloats to define respective oat portions extending between the openingsof said pair of spaced openings, a belt, and respective loops in saidbelt surrounding the portions of said oats between said pairs ofopenings, portions of said belt loops lying in the channels of said oatsbetween said openings whereby to restrain said floats against shiftinglaterally of the belt length.

4. A swimming aid including in combination a pair of channel-shapedfloats, each of said floats having its channel extending in thedirection of its length to form a base, means forming a pair of spacedopenings in each base to define respective base portions extendingbetween the openings of said pairs of spaced openings, a belt andrespective loops formed in said belt around the portions of said basesbetween said pairs of openings, portions of said belt loops lying in theportions of said channels between the openings of each pair and on saidbases Whereby to restrain said oats against shifting laterally of saidbelt.

5. A swimming aid as in claim 1 in which said belt is formed from flatwebbing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS832,999 Petrie Oct. 9, 1906 1,212,315 Bjerre Jan. 16, 1917 1,236,310Johnson Aug. 7, 1917 1,341,529 Watts May 25, 1920 1,367,225 Barner Feb.1, 1921 1,492,041 Long Apr. 29, 1924 FOREIGN PATENTS 6,174 Great Britain1893 14,072 Great Britain Sept. 28, 1916 114,169 Great Britain Mar. 28,1918 787,154 France June 24, 1935 888,288 France Aug. 30, 1943 anni,

